GCSE Bitesize Revision: Science (UK)

Description:

This program is intended to help students get through their science GCSE exam, by presenting revision material in 'bitesize' chunks that are easy to digest. Start by listening to a brief 'Show Me' explanation from Tim Vincent on how to make use of the program. Then sign in and indicate which GCSE Tier you have entered for - Foundation or Higher.

The main screen shows a list of 17 topics in Chemistry, Physics and Biology. Examples include Variation and Inheritance, Electricity and Magnetism, and Radioactivity. Mouse over the orange Jump Bar at the left and it expands to give a choice of access to tools: Progress reports, WWW (Internet), Bookmark (continue from last study spot), Survival Guide, Options, Search, Calculator and Notebook.

Listen to Tim's common sense advice in the Survival Guide. He covers topics like Beating Stress, Surviving Exam Day and Getting the Marks You Deserve. If you want to structure breaks in study sessions, select Session Timer in Options. Then look over the topics in the Contents screen and get started. Each Topic has information that can be accessed in different categories: text and/or audio introductions, Fact Zones, Topic Checks, an Exam Question and Revision Bites.

Go through them in any order. If unsure, take the Topic Check to find out what you already do and don't know about this topic, and add Revision Links for topics that need more study to your Hit List. Fact Zones are presented with interactive explanations. Students can hide information while they check their knowledge and then reveal it to see if they were right. Text buttons can be used to highlight areas of graphics that relate to the material, e.g. to show parts of a cell. Dynamic pictures are used to explain things like relative positions of Sun and Earth during the day and at night.

Features:

• Chemistry, Physics, Biology
• Multiple user support
• Password protection
• Progress reports
• 3 full exam papers
• Link to Bitesize website
• 22 page Guide (jewel case)
• Full User Guide on CD
• Supports network installation

Technical Aspects:

This would be suitable for someone with auditory difficulty as most of the information is visual. However they would miss much of the Survival Guide, some audio introductions and Tim's encouraging comments.

Report and Conclusions:

I especially like the concept of keeping a Hit List of weak areas that need further study. Students can revise a particular topic area, test themselves along the way, review Hit List topics and then try a real (past) exam question and compare their answer with a teacher's response. In addition to being well prepared for an exam, they are likely to go into it with added confidence, an important ingredient for success.